- BGG rating
- 7.5
Faiyum: Privileges
- 1–5 players
- 110–140 min
- Complexity 2.9/5
- 2023
- BGG rank
- BGG #1,141
- BGG rating
- 7.5
Faiyum
2020
Rules assistance for Faiyum
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–5 players
- 110–140 min
- 12+
- Complexity 3.1/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Faiyum
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Faiyum is a board game released in 2020 for 1–5 players, 110–140 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Friedemann Friese and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Network and Route Building, and Hexagon Grid.
Expansions
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About the game
The oasis-like basin Faiyum was artificially built 3,900 years ago by enlarging the Bahr Yussef channel that connected to the Nile to create a regulated flood plain. During the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, this swampland was slowly changed into farmland under the aegis of pharaohs such as Amenemhet III and Sesostris II. They ordered their advisors to build a system of canals and dikes to reclaim the land surrounded by desert and inhabited by crocodiles to turn it into a granary for Egypt. Now, during the reign of Amenemhet III, you are the pharaoh's advisors, commanded to harvest goods, build roads, found settlements, and do much more for the good of Faiyum! You are being supplied with the necessary manpower, resources, and money, which means that if another advisor needs to use "your" roads, farms, and other buildings, they may do so since everything you build is owned by the pharaoh. The only thing you will own is the only thing that matters: the respect of the pharaoh. Faiyum is a strategic game for enthusiasts of planning games. The basic rules are simple: Play your cards one by one on your personal discard stack. After playing some or all of your cards, you take them back into your hand in "reverse" playing order, so playing cards in the best order is important. Newly purchased cards go directly into your hand, so the timing of getting and playing them is important, too. Each of the individual cards has easy-to-understand actions, but only by creating the best combined "engine" will you be a master advisor of Faiyum. This game features a card mechanism reminiscent of deck builders and the market mechanism successfully used in Power Grid. Gain more and more valuable cards, and use the structures built on the game board to your advantage — in other words, for your reputation. In the end, the most cunning advisor who creates the best card combinations will win Faiyum.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Arclight Games
- Rio Grande Games
- 2F-Spiele
Questions and answers
Faiyum supports 1–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Faiyum is 110–140 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Faiyum for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Faiyum has a complexity rating of 3.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Faiyum belongs to these categories: Economic, Ancient, and Farming. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Network and Route Building, and Hexagon Grid. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Faiyum are: Friedemann Friese. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Faiyum as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.